ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church)

Youth Choir and Faithfulnessby Taylor

One extremely important part of my childhood faith development was participating in youth choir as a middle and high schooler. The church that I grew up attending had an extremely rich music program – and part of that was a high-school youth choir that had been around since my mom had participated in it in the 70’s. It was called Choraleers. And growing up I truly thought that being a choraleer was the COOLEST thing. And then, as most things go, when I got a chance to participate as a high-schooler it just became part of my normal, weekly schedule. I didn’t think of it as particularly cool or exciting – it was just something I did every week.

But looking back, it’s interesting to me, that so many of the things that are just part of my normal day-to-day life are the things that form me the most. Choraleers became more than just going to church every Sunday evening and singing with my friends or going on trips wearing matching T-shirts. Not in spite of but because of the fact that it was a normal part of my life it taught me so much about faithfulness – about being a part of a community that supports one another, about showing up even when you aren’t sure you want to, and about being committed to something even when the emotional high wears off.

To this day I will still sometimes find that I have a song stuck in my head and when I stop to think about what song it is it’s some song we sang in Choraleers. That happened to me this week when I read Psalm 139 which is one of the Psalms in the Lectionary texts for the week. Psalm 139 says this:

O LORD, you have searched me and known me.

You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.

You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely.

You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.

For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.

My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.

How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

I try to count them -- they are more than the sand; I come to the end -- I am still with you.

- Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

(If you’re wondering the song that popped into my head is this one. I have many memories of singing it in various place.)

And so, as I read through Psalm 139 this week I thought about how I have known these words for years and years – and how they have served various functions in my life. They were learned by rote as lyrics to a song, they’ve served as a balm on days when I doubted my own worth or value, and somedays they serve as a challenge to me when my faith is small. But today they are a comfort – in a different way than they ever could have been a comfort to my teenage self. V.6 and V.18 in particular are a comfort to me now – in a season where God seems bigger than I can comprehend it is helpful to be reminded that that is a comforting thing. That a God bigger than my imagination is a God bigger than me, a God who understands more than I do, a God whose plan is infinitely better than mine.

This would not have been a comforting thought to me as a 17 year old, when I liked my world (and my god) to be small and understandable. But part of being faithful, I have learned, means understanding that things will change, that I will change, that the things I am comforted by will change, and even that I what I think about God might change. But God does not. When I come to my own end – I am still with God. It’s a lesson I started learning in youth choir, one that I’m still learning today. And I’d imagine that I’ll still be learning it for years to come. And I am thankful that God will be with me all the way. I hope that thought is a comfort to you today as well.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns about any of this, feel free to email taylor@ubcwaco.org.

After Church Picnic

We live in Texas, and it has decided to be unreasonably hot already, so we are changing our plans. This Sunday after church, we are going to picnic indoors. Bring your food to church, or go grab it and come back afterwards. UBC will be providing drinks, as well as serving up Steel City Pops for dessert. This is a great time to connect with other UBC’ers, and see who is going to be around for summer. We will also have some yard games going on, as well as summer classic movie playing in the background. If you have any questions, please email toph@ubcwaco.org. See you all on Sunday.

UBC T-Shirts

If you recently purchased a UBC shirt, we have them in the office. Make sure to check with a staff member before you grab yours, so we can check it off the list. If you have any questions, talk Toph.

Waco Dives - Thursday at noon

Hey friends it's that time of the year when we start up our weekly lunch at local dive. This week we will be eating at The Catch. The Catch can be found @ 1230 N Valley Mills Dr #700, Waco, TX 76710.

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Parishioner of the Week

Haleigh Culverhouse for winning the award for best social student in the universe at Baylor.

Work is Worship

Greeters: Walters

Coffee Makers: Pereira

Mug Cleaners: Latendresse

Money Counter: Justin Pond

Welcome Station: Erin & Dustin

Announcements

Sermon Text: Mark 2-3 "permission to be human"

6/10-25 Thailand Mission Team in Thailand

7-14 Trampoline Park Fun Day

8-5 Cameron Park Picnic

SWCC Movie Days @ UBC: 6-18, 7-9, 7-23

Leadership Team

If you have a concern or an idea for UBC that you’d like to share with someone that is not on staff, feel free to contact one of our leadership team members.

Chair- Emma Wood: emmaj.wood@yahoo.com

Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com

Stan Denman: Stan_Denman@baylor.edu

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Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Sharyl Loeung: sharylwl@gmail.com

Jon Davis: jdavis83@gmail.com

Student Position: Samuel Moore: samuel_moore2@baylor.edu

Student Position: Leah Reed: Leah_Reed@baylor.edu

UBC Finance Team

Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.

JD Newman: JD_Newman@baylor.edu

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Anna Tilson: Anna_Tilson@jrbt.com

Doug McNamee: douglas_mcnamee@baylor.edu

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